The Convention on the Rights of the Child calls for children
to be treated as human beings with a distinct set of rights,
instead of as passive objects of care. They can and should
be agents in their own lives. Child-initiated pedagogy
recognizes this by respecting children’s individual and
collective views, interests, and motivations. Instructional
practices that support child-initiated activities promote
children’s self-determination and their cognitive and
social development. By allowing young children to
choose their own pursuits and learning explorations, take
ownership of planned activities to adapt them to their
own purposes, and incorporate their own experiences
into learning opportunities, educators are moving toward
implementation of democratically appropriate practices.
The authors of this article examine how child-initiated
pedagogy manifests in the different contexts of Finland,
England, Estonia, and the United States.